Orji Uzor Kalu

Orji Uzor Kalu (born 21 April 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who is the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District.

Kalu is involved with the Njiko Igbo Movement, whose purpose is to help secure the presidential seat for a Nigerian citizen of Igbo extraction; an Igbo has only held the position of head of state for six months since Nigeria became a presidential republic in 1966.

The movement has branches and support groups throughout the diaspora.

Kalu launched the organization together with former Nigerian Senator Emmanuel Onwe, a human rights advocate and lawyer earlier based in the United Kingdom.

Kalu became the youngest Nigerian to receive the National Merit Award from President Ibrahim Babangida, at the age of 26 in 1986.

He was selected as the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce's Industrialist of the Year, and awarded the Humanitarian Award of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka's Humanitarian Club, the Volunteer Award of the International Association of Volunteers, the National Merit Award, the EU Special Award in Brussels, and the World Bank Leon Sullivan Award.

He attended Christ the King School Aba and Government College Umuahia.

After studying at Barewa College, Zaria, he enrolled in the University of Maiduguri where he studied political science.

During his time at the university, Kalu became a student activist, and participated in the "Ali Must Go" riots against the education minister.

His participation resulted in his suspension.

While his fellow students later took the school authorities to court, Kalu left school to build his own business.

Kalu has a degree from Abia State University, a Certificate in Business Administration from Harvard University and honorary doctorates from the universities of Maiduguri and Abia State.

Kalu headed First International Bank Limited at the age of 33.

He also stewarded Nigerian commercial relations with China's SinoPacific Shipbuilding company while serving as a principal of SLOK Holding.

He served as governor of Abia State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.

Kalu is the chairman of SLOK Holding and the Daily Sun and New Telegraph newspapers in Nigeria.

Prior to his election, he served as the chairman of the Borno Water Board and the chairman of the Cooperative and Commerce Bank Limited.

Kalu was also a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and the chairman of the PPA Board of Trustees.

The Daily Sun was incorporated on 29 March 2001, and began production as a weekly Newspaper on 18 January 2003, and as a daily newspaper on 16 June 2003.

The newspaper is similar in format to The Sun in the United Kingdom.

Kalu is also the chairman of the New Telegraph, with a circulation of 100,000 copies per day.

The newspaper targets domestic and foreign readers in major urban centers throughout the country and offers objective coverage of political, social, and cultural issues.

He was the party's presidential candidate in the April 2007 general election.

He is currently a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after he officially announced his resignation as the PPA BOT chair.

On 11 July 2007, Kalu was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges of corruption while serving as the governor of Abia State.

He was later released on bail, and accused the Obasanjo regime of persecuting him during and after his tenure in office, an accusation mentioned by former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell in his book, "Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink."

Kalu has been a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, a "close friend and father, who deserves all the support to make Nigeria better."

On 8 August 2023, He was named the chairman, Senate committee on privatization in the 10th senate

Kalu is the chairman of the Daily Sun, a Nigerian daily print newspaper founded and published in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.

The newspaper had a daily circulation of 130,000 copies as of 2011, and 135,000 for weekend titles, with an average of 80% sales.

The Daily Sun was the highest selling newspaper in Nigeria https://www.newspapers-list.com/nigeria/the-sun-nigeria.php.

Orji Uzor Kalu contested in the 2019 Nigerian general election to represent the people of Abia North in the senate, running under the banner of All Progressives Congress.

He defeated the incumbent senator Mao Ohuabunwa with over 10,000 votes.

Kalu was born to the family of Mr. Johnson Uzor Nesiegbe Kalu and Mrs Eunice Kalu.

With only $35 to his name that he had borrowed from his mother, Kalu began trading palm oil, first buying the oil from Nigeria's eastern regions and then selling it in the country's northern regions.

He then began buying and reselling furniture on a large scale.

Kalu eventually established SLOK Holding, a conglomerate that would consist of a number of successful companies, including the Ojialex Furniture Company, SLOK Nigeria Limited, SLOK United Kingdom Limited, Adamawa Publishers Limited, SLOK Vegetable Oil, Aba, SLOK Paper Factory, Aba, SLOK United States Incorporated, SLOK Ghana, Togo, Cotonou, Guinea, South Africa, Liberia, Botswana, SLOK Korea, Supreme Oil Limited, SLOK Airlines, Sun Publishing Limited, and First International Bank Limited.

Kalu was convicted by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday, 5 December 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for N7.65 billion fraud.

He was convicted for defrauding the government of Abia State where he was a governor for 8 years using his company, Slok Nigeria Limited.

Days after the court ordered the forfeiture of the company, Nigeria anti graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC commenced the process of winding down Slok Nigeria Limited including The Sun Publishing Ltd which was not part of the charges.